This Saturday, at the fabulous KIA Forum in Los Angeles, All Elite Wrestling presents the 5th annual Full Gear pay-per-view
As per usual, Tony Khan has graced us with another stacked card of amazing matches, highlighted by the main event for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, where Bullet Club Gold’s “Switchblade” Jay White challenges Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) to see who will come away with the grandest prize in pro wrestling.
In this article, we’ll preview the card, catch y’all up on the pertinent info you need on these matches, and I’ll give you my predictions on who wins on Saturday. (Card subject to change after publication)
Pre-Show: RoH World Tag Team Championships The Gunns vs. MJF & Mystery Partner (C)
Back at ALL IN: London, MJF and Adam Cole, who had formed a surprising friendship because of a blind draw tag team tournament, won the Ring of Honor (RoH) World Tag Team Championships from Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) to accomplish a dream that Adam Cole had for the longest time (Cole became the first wrestler to hold all RoH men’s titles at least once) However, that dream was short-lived when Cole suffered a broken ankle at Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 20th.
The next week on Dynamite, Cole was planning on relinquishing the titles when MJF said he’d defend them solo “for his brochacho” which he did at WrestleDream on October 1st defeating The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) in a 2 on 1 handicap match.
Fast Forward a couple weeks on Dynamite, MJF has been feuding with the entirety of Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, and The Gunns) More on how that started in the preview of the main event. The Gunns (Colton and Austin) felt that they deserved a shot at the tag titles. Well actually, they thought MJF should’ve just handed them over, but after yet another mugging by the Bang Bang Gang, MJF accepted their challenge for a match on the pre-show
The question became…. Who will be MJF’s partner? As of this writing, we do not know…
Samoa Joe has offered his services, on the condition that he gets an AEW World Championship match in the future. (MJF has balked at the decision at every turn, but has yet to actually say no) There’s the chance a member of The Acclaimed (Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, and “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn) steps up, however at the end of last weeks Dynamite those 3 were jumped by mysterious figures led by someone in MJF’s Devil mask (more on that later too).
Needless to say, we might not know until the match Saturday night who the mystery partner will be.
PREDICTION: Seeing no other options, MJF finally says yes to Samoa Joe’s ultimatum and they go on to defeat The Gunns. After the match Joe reminds Max that he’ll see him down the road.
AEW International Championship: Jon Moxley vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (C)
Orange Cassidy is known for his… unique style of wrestling.
Some call it “sloth style”, some call it laissez-faire, many see it as entertaining! Another thing Cassidy is known for is his time as AEW International Champion. Originally branded the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, Cassidy won the title from Pac on October 12, 2022. The title was then rebranded to its current name on March 15. “Freshly Squeezed” held the title for 326 days before being defeated at All Out in Chicago on September 3rd by Jon Moxley.
Mox held the title for 17 days before dropping it at Dynamite: Grand Slam to Rey Fenix because Moxley suffered a concussion. Cassidy would then replace Moxley and defeat Fenix to regain the championship at Dynamite: Title Tuesday on October 10th. Mox and Cassidy would get into it after a match on Collision on October 21st.
Orange would defeat Mox’s Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Claudio Castagnoli on Dynamite two weeks ago, after which Mox would attack OC, and the rematch was announced soon after for Full Gear. Cassidy said that this current title reign feels “incomplete because he didn’t defeat Moxley for the title.”
PREDICTION: Moxley goes into the match with momentum after he and BCC teammate Wheeler Yuta defeated Orange Cassidy and FTW Champion Hook in a tag match on Dynamite this last Wednesday. Cassidy is still quite banged up from all his title defenses in his previous reign.
I see Moxley bringing it to Orange, and while OC might put up a valiant effort, it will be Mox leaving LA as International Champion.
Three-way match for the TBS Championship: Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander (C)
Back in May at Double or Nothing, Kris Statlander returned from an ACL injury to win the TBS Championship and end the year plus reign of Jade Cargill.
Jade has since of course left for the WWE, leaving Statlander to become “The face of TBS” with her reign currently at 172 days and counting. Looking at the challengers: Julia Hart has improved leaps and bounds in her time with AEW. Since joining the House of Black, Hart has gone on a tear at one point having a 26 match win streak dating back to April 2022 before losing a TBS Championship match to Statlander at WrestleDream.
Hart has recently had run-ins with the other challenger in this match: Skye Blue. Back in September when Hart was on her winning streak, she faced Blue. At the end of the match, Hart spit black mist in the face of Blue. After this, we saw a change in the usually bubbly Skye. She had a more intense demeanor, she was more aggressive in matches, and it was as if the poison of Hart’s mist was getting to her.
Skye’s friend Willow Nightingale also fell victim to the black mist, but it hasn’t affected her as badly. Statlander considers both Blue and Nightingale her friends, but Skye doesn’t seem to feel the same way. How did we get to this three-way match? Hart defeated Nightingale on Collision last Saturday night while Blue defeated Red Velvet on Dynamite Wednesday.
PREDICTION: Three-way matches usually never favor the defending champion, and I see that as a factor Saturday. I also see… a heel turn coming.
I believe that Skye Blue turns on Statlander, perhaps blowing a blue mist into her face, and allowing Julia Hart to get the 1,2,3… AND NEW TBS CHAMPION!
Trios Match: TNT Champion Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, and Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin, Sting, and “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland
At the end of WrestleDream, after their TNT Championship match, Christian Cage and his cronies had Darby Allin, and Sting laid out.
With Cage about to hit a Con-chair-to on Sting we heard the familiar sounds of Alter Bridges “Metalingus” and saw the AEW debut of the “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland (fka Edge in WWE) who made the save. Copeland would then say on the October 4th episode of Dynamite that he wanted to team up with Christian one more time.
Cage would tell Copeland in a very blunt manner to… well to GFY. A couple weeks later, Sting (64) would announce that at Revolution 2024 he would retire after a long successful career. Never missing an opportunity to piss all over a feel good moment, Christian would proclaim that he was going to end Sting’s career before Revolution, and also break Copeland’s neck. On the October 24th Dynamite, Cage challenged Sting, Darby, and another partner to a 6 man tag.
Later backstage in an interview Copeland was saying he didn’t want to fight Christian, so Sting lit a fire under the Rated R Superstar helping him to see that Christian couldn’t be trusted. The next Week, Copeland would end up hitting a spear on Cage, and joining Allin, and the Icon.
PREDICTION: This has a chance to be a really good match. Christian is doing some of his best work as a heel, and with a young up and comer like Nick Wayne and a heavy like Luchasaurus, that team is a force to be reckoned with. However, on the other side you have Adam Copeland who still has a lot left in the tank and always puts on classic matches.
You also have Darby Allin who is high energy, and will find a way to wow you with a spectacular spot. Then there’s STIIIIIIIIING!!! and the Stinger is money in these matches where he can do his thing, but not get too blown up. Plus, he usually does something that makes you go “OMG HE’S 64 AND JUMPING OFF SOME TALL THING, WTF!!!???”
Taking all this into account, I’m going with Adam, Allin, and Stiiiing!
Tag Team Match: The Golden Jets (Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
The partnership of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega might seem odd to some, but it’s a case of “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” (Or something like that) In this instance, both Jericho and Omega have beef with Don Callis.
Callis turned his back on Omega on May 10th, wanting to form new alliances. He then sought out Chris Jericho who said “Maybe” to Don’s offer to join his new family. Jericho eventually said yes, but Callis wasn’t expecting that answer, and instead stabbed Jericho in the back too. Now that you know that story, you can see how Chris and Kenny found common ground so easily. However, that alienated Kenny’s friends Matt and Nick Jackson: The Young Bucks.
The Bucks and Kenny had been AEW Trios champs at the beginning of the year, but lost the titles in March at Revolution. Then Kenny had his beef with Don whilst he and The Bucks were feuding with the Blackpool Combat Club, and they just never got back to chasing the Trios Championships. Seeing Kenny palling around with Jericho made the Bucks (especially Matt) a trifle jealous and mad given there was some previous bad blood between the Bucks and Jericho.
Now at WrestleDream, the Young Bucks won a 4-way tag match where the winner got an anytime opportunity to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. This is pertinent to this match because it is part of the stipulation that follows: IF the Young Bucks win: The Golden Jets must stop tagging together. IF the Golden Jets win, they take possession of the Young Bucks title shot.
PREDICTION: The Golden Jets come into this match banged up after being part of a 4 on 4 street fight on Dynamite last Wednesday. The Bucks won a tag match albeit by hitting their opponents with a low blow while the ref was distracted. The physical beating Kenny and Chris took coupled with an evident willingness to cut corners by the Bucks has me thinking they will do anything to break up the Jets and get their friend back… but then that makes me think that the Jets will overcome that adversity and claim victory on Saturday…
It’s a toss-up for me, but I’m going with the Golden Jets to win. I feel like there is more to that story in the future.
AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida (C)
The last 3 plus months in the AEW Women’s division have been… interesting to say the least. At the beginning of August, Toni Storm was World Champion and rolling with her friends Saraya and Ruby Soho in The Outcasts.
Then on the 200th episode of Dynamite, Shida defeated Storm to become a 2 time AEW Women’s World Champion. This… did not sit well with Ms. Storm, she started to spiral into a depression of sorts, taking on the persona of a noir film star. Then at ALL IN: London, in a 4-way match, Shida lost the title when Saraya pinned Toni Storm effectively booting her from the Outcasts. This sent Toni further into a spiral to the point where during an interview with RJ City on the October 4th episode of Dynamite, Storm proclaimed herself… Timeless, much like the Golden Age of Hollywood starlets (like Gloria Swanson and Norma Shearer) Meanwhile Shida would eventually regain her title defeating Saraya on the October 10th Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite, and becoming a 3 time champ in the process.
A few weeks later the match was made for Full Gear where Storm would face Shida for the championship. In recent weeks, during or after Shida’s matches, Storm has appeared to try and steal the spotlight which at first confused Shida, and later started to annoy her.
PREDICTION: It’s a Hollywood homecoming of sorts for “Timeless” Toni Storm. Will her latest feature bring forth the glitz and glamour of championship gold? Or will it be a flop and send her further into madness? There’s a new wildcard perhaps with the recent AEW debut of Mariah May who seems to be obsessed with Toni Storm (Remember Mickie James and Trish Stratus folks?) Does this play a factor in the match? We shall see.
As for my pick: to channel Siskel and Ebert… It’s two thumbs up for “Timeless” Toni Storm in Hollywood!
4-way tag match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship: La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush and Dralistico) vs House of Black (Brody King and Malakai Black) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs Ricky Starks and Big Bill (C)
AEW has been well known for their tag team division, highlighted by teams like The Young Bucks, FTR, The Lucha Bros… the list goes on and on.
So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s numerous teams gunning for the gold. The current champions (Big Bill and “Absolute” Ricky Starks) came together by happenstance. Starks was on suspension for attacking special enforcer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat after Starks faced CM Punk on Collision in August (before Punk got canned) Starks, however worked around the suspension by obtaining a managers license and managing Big Bill.
They eventually started tagging and defeated the then champs FTR (Cash and Dax) on the October 7th episode of Collision. In the following weeks FTR would ask for a rematch, but get denied every time. As that happened, FTR was starting to get attention from the House of Black. Black, King, and Buddy Matthews would attack FTR for a couple weeks in a row before LFI made a surprise return on the November 4th episode of Collision.
Starks and Bill stated they’d never defend their titles against any of these teams, but the next week the match was made much to their chagrin.
PREDICTION: This match might steal the show. You have so many different styles (the old school style of FTR, the brute power of the House of Black, the lucha style from LFI, and the sneaky heelish style of Starks and Big Bill).
There will be tons of action in this one. In the end, I think ol Ricky and Big Bill find a way to weasel their way out with the gold. There’s so much animosity between the other 3 teams that I see Starks slipping in and stealing a pin.
Texas Death Match: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)
Buckle up folks, to quote Coach Prime “It’s Personal”.
Back in September before WrestleDream, Swerve Strickland called out Hangman Page. He said that Hangman had gotten complacent, that he didn’t have the fire in him anymore, so why was he taking up a top spot that Swerve could have? Swerve had goals: he wants to be the first black AEW World Champion, and he feels that to accomplish that he has to knock Hangman out of his spot and take it for his own.
Fast forward to WrestleDream, Hangman has taken it to Swerve. He’s got the win in the bag, but all of a sudden Prince Nana hits Page with his crown while the ref is distracted. Swerve gets the W, but Swerve isn’t happy enough. A few weeks later, while Hangman is at Dynamite, Swerve and Nana break into Hangman’s house. They don’t do much, but Swerve does stand over the crib of Page’s son and says that he’s still not done with Hangman, after which he leaves a shirt of his behind. This drives Hangman into a blind rage that whenever he sees Swerve or Nana he goes after them. This costs Hangman and The Young Bucks the RoH 6 man titles against Prince Nana’s mercenaries The Gates of Agony and Brian Cage.
So, another match is made for Full Gear and Hangman adds the stipulation of a Texas Deathmatch. (If you haven’t seen Hangman and Swerve’s interaction from this last Dynamite, go watch it. Hangman is filled with a passionate rage, but still spits fire and drops a few lines that popped me.)
PREDICTION: This match will be violent, there will be blood, there will be weapons. Can Hangman keep his emotions in check enough to not slip up and make a mistake? Does Swerve know what hell he has unleashed?
I know one thing, you don’t break into a man’s house and stand over his baby son’s crib without having a fury unlike no other unleashed upon them. I’m going with Hangman Page to win.
AEW World Championship: “Switchblade” Jay White vs. MJF (C)
We’re finally to the main event, and boy what a main event! Two guys at the top of their game, both vying for the biggest prize in the game, The Triple B (depending on who you ask it’s either the Bang Bang Belt according to Jay White, but to MJF it’s the Big Burberry Belt).
How did we get to this point? How did the planets align to where we get this amazing match?
It all started a week after Dynamite: Grand Slam where Adam Cole broke his ankle. Jay White, leader of Bullet Club Gold, came out and said that if not for him, MJF and Adam Cole would probably not be friends. He then stated his plans to win the AEW World Championship, MJF would then cut a scathing promo where he said Jay White wasn’t on his level. Later that night, we saw the Switchblade get jumped backstage by 4-5 goons in black led by someone wearing MJF’s Devil mask. (For context, when MJF came back at All Out 2022 he came out wearing this mask)
MJF made the claim that someone swiped the mask, and that he was not the devil that attacked Jay White.
That didn’t stop Bullet Club Gold (White, Juice Robinson, and The Gunns) from attacking MJF the following week, stealing the AEW World Championship in the process, and White challenging for the title at Full Gear which MJF accepted. MJF would try in vain to retrieve his belt, getting thwarted several times. MJF had many obstacles in front of him, like Juice Robinson battling MJF for his Dynamite Diamond Ring which MJF retained. Bullet Club Gold offered to give back the belt IF MJF could find 3 other partners for an 8 man tag.
MJF looked all over and eventually settled on The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass (Bowens, Caster, and Billy Gunn) They would lose the match, but MJF found respect for The Acclaimed. The next week at the end of Dynamite, while MJF was in the ring cutting a promo on Bullet Club Gold who was at the top of the ramp, the goons in black led by “the devil” jumped the Acclaimed backstage. MJF ran to the back, but he was too late to stop what had happened.
PREDICTION: Last Wednesday on Dynamite, the show ended with MJF laid out and Bullet Club Gold standing triumphantly. Momentum is obviously on the side of the Switchblade, but MJF is a generational talent. Despite all the odds stacked against him, I believe MJF finds a way to win Saturday night and gain back possession of his World Championship.
We still have numerous guys gunning for Max and his title. (Remember I mentioned that I think Samoa Joe will be the mystery partner, meaning MJF will owe Joe a title match down the line) There’s also Wardlow coming after him too, lots of options for title matches.
BONUS: Do we find out who is under the devil mask? Does that person get involved in the outcome of the match? Who do you think it is? I couldn’t even begin to speculate myself.
All in all, this is shaping up to be a fantastic Pay-Per-View. We also found out that a big name will be signing with the company on Saturday which will lead to lots of rumors of course, but that makes it fun!
AEW FULL GEAR is this Saturday night in Los Angeles, California at the fabulous KIA Forum.
The Zero Hour pre-show starts at 7 p.m./6 p.m. CST with the main show starting at 8 p.m./7 p.m. CST.
You can find AEW FULL GEAR on traditional cable and satellite providers, also on Bleacher Report via their website or app, and also select movie theaters, Dave and Busters, and Tom’s Watch Bar locations around the US. International viewers can watch on FITE TV, YouTube in select countries, and other various PPV platforms.
